saturday - went to dinner at
beppe's in grammercy park for a friend's going-away dinner. (another one moving back to the sf bay area in less than 2 months!) the decor was simple but very welcoming and so was the wait staff. the hostess and host were very friendly and sat us right away. we did have reservations but that doesn't seem like much these days. (for example, with our reservations at kittichai, my friend and i still waited over 45 minutes!) we had tuscan
fries and pork belly to start... and i had their
butcher's spaghetti. which promised lots of tidbits of pork. by the time the my pasta arrived, i was too full to complain about the smaller portion. (i was barely able to finish it!) but it was indeed delicious. the spaghetti was cooked just right and the meat sauce... oh how i can go on about the meat sauce! i'm a sucker for meat sauce and if i am craving for spaghetti again, beppe it shall be. i was pretty full at this point but there's always
room for dessert! so we ordered the
pannacotta and vanilla/chocolate chip cannoli. i loved both desserts, although i think i liked the chocolate chip cannoli the best. really enjoyed dinner. d and i were going to walk to
billy's bakery but it started raining and since we didn't have an umbrella, we ended up going home instead. the rain was probably a blessing in disguise.
sunday - our full intentions yesterday was to have lunch at mary's fish camp or pearl's oyster bar for their lobster rolls but i belatedly found out that they are both closed on sunday! :-( we meandered towards
midtown and after wandering about the west side and the street fair and
after trying the
mozzarepa snack, chocolate/chocolate cannoli, and the hot dog/sausage monstrocity, we decided to walk to
billy's bakery. (mind you, that was 40+ blocks) of course, we were side tracked by a cheesecake bakery (
d'auito's on 8th avenue)... so we had to try the blueberry cheesecake! granted, we only had about 2 bites each... very large bites. and after what felt like miles and miles, we finally reached our destination. billy's bakery in chelsea!! the sunny bakery was cute and totally quaint. i don't even bake but as soon as i walked into the bakery, i wanted to open my own bakery! of course, the small bakery was packed with people! after browsing every single item on display, we ordered what we came for:
1 slice of ice box cake, 1 slice of the banana cream pie, 1 daisy cupcake with chocalate frosting and 1 chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. i have to admit the cupcakes were divine and might be better than magnolia's... but the ice box cake wasn't as good as magnolia's. although d liked it better because it wasn't as sweet
but i love the ice box cake from magnolia! it's my absolute favorite. oh the banana cream pie wasn't bad, either. :-) even though we said we were only going to eat just a bite from each item, we finished our cupcakes and most of the the ice box cake and the banana cream pie. we were feeling very guilty after the sugar overload and decided to walk to union square. (to kill some time until dinner, that is.) after a few hours at the barnes and noble, feeling the ups & downs of our sugar overload, we walked over to
momofuku noodle bar around 8pm-ish. i was so excited, i'd been over to the ssam bar but have been dying to come to the noodle bar for weeks! especially since i hard that the noodle bar is planning on expanding to another location! i had to go try the original momofuku noodle bar. even before i go into the meal itself, i have to say one thing: it was phenomenal!! so far, my favorite restaurant to date. i can't go on about how much i love this place. again, the decor of the restaurant is simple but warm. of course, the people waiting inside and outside to eat there gave the whole place even more excitement! we waited about half an hour before we were seated but it was worth the wait. let me list of our dinner... we started off with the
berkshire pork steamed buns, roasted rice cakes, curry fried pork belly. for main entree, d and i shared the
momofuku ramen, which was absolutely perfect. first, the steam buns were heavenly! the pork was juicy and tender, the pancake so soft! the curry pork belly, which was deep fried and it just melted in my mouth. the
crispy skin of the pork and the belly fat. what more can you ask for?? well, i also think the roasted rice cake is one of their yummiest appetizers! the rice cakes are toasted before so it’s nice and chewy. the chili sauce is simply amazing! momofuku ramen, which is larger and had more goodies than the regular pork ramen on the menu. i was so full, i think i had to be rolled outta the restaurant.
so there you have it. i am thinking i need to go to the gym tonight for at least 3 hours to just undo some damage. that might be just enough to burn off the chocolate cupcake, though...
sometimes, i am so amazed at how easy things are with d. this has been the easiest relationship i have ever been in. i mean, no doubts, no questions, no struggles. i am absolutely sure of how he feels about me and where we're going. we have been in the same place and understanding every step of the way. today marks 7 months that we've been dating. albeit long distance but it has been the happiest 7 months of my life. i think about him and my heart gets warm. i think my temperature rises a bit and my heart feels full. i know this sounds cheesy but i feel like every love song and romantic comedy was made for me and d. i know, barf, right?? we talk for hours at a time sometimes and i don't want to hang up. and as soon as i say good bye to him i want to pick up the phone and call him back. i want to talk to him while i do the most mundane things during the day because i want him to be a part of my life, in every aspect. for the rest of my life. because when i'm with him, i feel like i can get lost in him and everything disappears. i have never felt this way before. this kind of electricity, chemistry, love and happiness.
